Senior Scrum Master, IT Proj Management

Ascensus - Newton, MA

Full-time

Newton, MA

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

About the position

At Ascensus, technology is more than just a solution; it powers the business that helps millions of people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. Our technology experts tackle exciting challenges in collaborative teams, but work in an environment where individual and career development is always valued. Technology associates leverage their talents and passion, building new and innovative platforms, creating programs founded in automation in agile frameworks, and driving existing and new markets—all of which supports the rapid growth of a dynamic industry leader. In this role, you will work with scrum team(s) to ensure effective application of Agile practices and the Scrum framework to project execution. You will model and promote Agile values and principles, advocating for positive refinements in existing practices to create better alignment with agile principles. Your responsibilities will include guiding the team and organization on how to leverage Agile/Scrum practices and values to maximize the delivery of business value, applying Agile/Scrum practices in a manner that best suits the needs of the organization, and tracking and publishing prescribed team metrics. You will also be responsible for building a trusting environment where issues are raised without fear of blame, facilitating the completion of assignments efficiently, and championing collaborative discussion and decision-making. Additionally, you will assist with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and coordinating participation from all team members in scrum ceremonies and longer-term planning exercises. Your role will involve supporting and educating the Product Owner in applying the scrum framework and agile principles, continually enhancing your own domain knowledge, and improving your Scrum Master skills through education and engagement with fellow Scrum Masters and practitioners. As a Scrum Master, you will work with the Product Owner and Team to plan and execute project implementations, assist in identifying and mitigating project risks, and ensure that the Definition of Done (DOD) and Definition of Ready (DOR) are met consistently. You will also conduct regular assessments of a team's Scrum Maturity and lead Scrum Masters in developing their skill set by identifying educational opportunities. Your commitment to protecting, securing, and properly handling all confidential data held by Ascensus is paramount, ensuring against unauthorized access and disclosure of information that could result in harm to Ascensus or our clients. Our I-Client service philosophy and our Core Values of People Matter, Quality First, and Integrity Always® should be visible in your actions on a day-to-day basis, showing your support of our organizational culture. You may also assist with other tasks and projects as assigned.

Responsibilities

• Guide the team and organization on how to leverage Agile/Scrum practices and values to maximize the delivery of business value.
• Apply Agile/Scrum practices in a manner that best suits the needs of the organization.
• Track and publish prescribed team metrics.
• Guide the team on applying self-organizing, self-corrective behaviors; analyze and adapt to feedback inputs (e.g., Metrics, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives) to build high performing teams.
• Remove impediments and guide the team to remove its own impediments.
• Build a trusting environment where issues are raised without fear of blame, retribution, or being judged, emphasizing correction and problem solving.
• Facilitate the completion of assignments efficiently without coercion, assigning, or dictating the work.
• Champion collaborative discussion, decision making, and problem solving.
• Assist with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and radiating information.
• Coordinate and encourage participation from all team members in scrum ceremonies and longer-term planning exercises.
• Support and educate the Product Owner in applying the scrum framework and agile principles, particularly in refining and maintaining the product backlog.
• Continually enhance own domain knowledge of systems, products, and industry.
• Improve Scrum Master skills through education and engagement with fellow Scrum Masters and practitioners.
• Work with Product Owner and Team to plan and execute project implementations.
• Assist in the identification and mitigation of project risks.
• Ensure Definition of Done (DOD) & Definition of Ready (DOR) are met consistently.
• Provide Scrum Master services to multiple teams when required.
• Identify and act on coaching opportunities at the individual and team level.
• Conduct regular assessments of a team's Scrum Maturity and use the results to guide them to improved performance.
• Participate in organizational assessments of agile practices and take ownership of resulting action items to advance the agile transformation.
• Lead Scrum Masters in developing their skill set by identifying educational opportunities and leading discussions on applicable topics.
• Contribute to the identification, tracking, and removal of impediments at various levels within the organization.
• Install/apply enterprise agile practices from SAFe or other similar frameworks to support scaling of scrum teams.
• Protect, secure, and properly handle all confidential data held by Ascensus.

Requirements

• Strong knowledge of Agile/Scrum principles and practices.
• Experience as a Scrum Master for a minimum of five years for a software development team applying Agile/Scrum principles and practices consistent with those at Ascensus.
• Experience with creating Scrum metrics and applying those metrics to enhance team performance.
• Good skills and knowledge of servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency.
• Ability to anticipate issues based on experience to help the team avoid or resolve the issues.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including active listening.
• Knowledge of PC applications including MS Office products.
• Strong experience with Jira, TFS, or other comparable agile project management tools.
• Knowledge of common business applications and analytical tools.
• Certified Scrum Master (Scrum Alliance).
• Knowledge of and/or experience with writing effective user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Previous leadership experience.
• Proven mentoring skills.
• Familiar with SAFe and/or other enterprise agile frameworks.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience as a Scrum Master for a minimum of eight years for a software development team applying Agile/Scrum principles and practices consistent with those at Ascensus.
• Knowledge of other Agile approaches: XP, Kanban, Crystal, FDD, etc.
• Experience with EasyBI.
• Applicable knowledge of the technologies used by the team.
• Scrum Master experience in an organization during an agile transformation.
• Successful application of SAFe and/or other enterprise agile frameworks.